By Kathy Deters
April 20, 2026
The University of Missouri’s Robert J. Trulaske, Sr. College of Business recently took students to three regional collegiate competitions.
“The unique, experience-centered learning opportunities offered through the Trulaske College of Business equip students with the confidence and skills needed to excel in case competitions,” Balaji Rajagopalan, dean of the Trulaske College of Business, said. “I am proud that the coaching of our leading-edge faculty, combined with our innovative experiential learning programs and the hard work of our high-achieving students, added up to several ‘wins’ for the Trulaske College of Business.”
Trulaske students placed second at the UMSL 2026 Midwest Gateway Supply Chain Student Case Competition. Hosted by the University of Missouri-St. Louis, the competition challenged students to apply supply chain management concepts to real-world business scenarios. Working in teams, participants analyzed complex case studies, developed strategic solutions, and presented their findings to industry professionals and academic judges.
Students also engaged in valuable networking and gained hands-on experience in supply chain analysis, problem-solving and decision-making while fostering collaboration and critical thinking skills.
Members of the team included Stella Dang, Eliana Mejia, Ian McAfee and Nolan Walch. Team coaches were Katie Essing, assistant teaching professor of marketing, and Aldis Jakubovskis, associate teaching professor of management.
Mizzou took seventh place in the Selling with the Bulls sales competition at the University of South Florida Muma College of Business. Mizzou students David Pearcy and Steven Deister earned spots in the Winners Circle; and Deister took third place.
Other Mizzou students who competed at the event include Nathaniel Scott-Negrette, Johnny Wagner, Katelyn Sieh and Emily LaMartina. The team was coached by George Lucas, PhD, owner/CEO of Lucas Learning; Amber Bussey, senior coordinator of experience-centered learning at Trulaske; and Natalie Thomas, assistant teaching professor of marketing.
Mizzou also placed 10th out of 51 teams at the Baylor National Collegiate Digital Marketing Championship in Nashville, where students Kaitlyn Traxler and Ella Besson took home individual honors. Other team members included Riley Wolf, Azariah Smith and Emily Hacker, with Essing coaching.
The competition brought together college students to compete and showcase their digital marketing expertise as they applied real-world marketing concepts across disciplines such as social media strategy, content creation, analytics and campaign development.
“It gave me a chance to explore a specific industry firsthand and discover what I do and don’t enjoy,” Wolf said. “That kind of insight is harder to get in the classroom and helps me make more informed decisions about my future career.”
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